Ensure the repository contains all required files:
- Comprehensive README.md file with detailed documentation of the architecture, design decisions, and component descriptions.
- All source code and scripts necessary for deploying the WordPress application.
- Terraform configuration files for the Infrastructure as Code (IaC) setup.
- A cost estimation file reflecting the budget and financial considerations for the project.
###### Are all required files present?
##### Play the role of a stakeholder:
Conduct a role-play session where students present their solution as Cloud Engineers. Evaluate their understanding of cloud concepts, their solution's architecture, and their ability to communicate effectively. Suggested questions:
- How does your architecture ensure high availability and scalability for the WordPress application?
- Describe how you've implemented security measures to protect your application and data.
- Discuss the auto-scaling strategy you've chosen and how it aligns with cost management principles.
- How have you managed the storage of dynamic and static content to ensure consistency and performance?
- What monitoring and alerting mechanisms have you put in place to maintain the health and performance of your application?
- Provide details on how you used Terraform for infrastructure provisioning and the benefits of using Infrastructure as Code (IaC).
###### Were the students able to answer all questions satisfactorily?
###### Did the students demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the technologies and strategies used?
###### Could the students effectively communicate their design decisions and justify their architectural choices?
##### Review the Architecture Design:
Examine the student's architecture design to ensure it meets all project requirements:
1.`Scalability`: Does the architecture include an auto-scaling setup that efficiently handles varying loads?
2.`High Availability`: Are services deployed across multiple servers or data centers to ensure fault tolerance?
3.`Security`: Are appropriate security measures in place, including access controls and database security?
4.`Cost Management`: Is there evidence of cost optimization strategies and a clear understanding of the chosen cloud provider's pricing model?
5.`Simplicity and Compliance`: Has the student managed to design a straightforward solution without Kubernetes, as per the project's constraints?
###### Does the architecture align with the project's scalability, availability, security, and cost-effectiveness requirements?
##### Test WordPress Functionality:
- Navigate to the WordPress site URL.
- Upload a new media item to the WordPress site.
- Access various static assets (CSS, JavaScript, images).
###### Are these loading quickly, indicating effective CDN use?
###### Does the site load correctly from different locations or using different internet connections?
###### Is the item immediately accessible from different sessions, indicating successful NFS setup for dynamic content?
###### Is the WordPress application fully functional and serving content correctly?
##### High Availability and Auto-scaling Verification:
- Ask the student to demonstrate how WordPress instances are distributed across different physical locations or data centers.
- Simulate a server failure or take one instance offline.
- Show evidence of the auto-scaling configuration. Then, simulate or describe how the system scales up under high load and scales down when the load decreases.
- Perform a controlled load test to trigger auto-scaling. Monitor and record the scaling activity.
###### Does the site remain accessible, indicating successful failover and high availability?
###### Is the WordPress setup highly available with no downtime during server failures?
###### Does the auto-scaling mechanism work as expected, adjusting the number of instances according to load?
##### Load Balancing and Traffic Distribution:
- Explain or show the load balancer setup ensuring even traffic distribution.
- Ask the student to explain how is traffic evenly distributed across all servers.
###### Is the load balancing configured correctly, effectively distributing traffic across servers?
##### Alert and Monitoring Setup:
- Show the configuration for email alerts related to service problems or budget overruns.
- Trigger an Alert: (If possible), simulate a condition that would trigger an alert (e.g., stopping a service or exceeding a predefined budget threshold).
###### Are alerts properly set up and working as expected for system issues and budget overruns?
##### Security and Access Control:
- Ask the student to explain how are strict access controls implemented to secure NFS, object storage, and the database.
- Verify that the managed database is accessible only by WordPress servers and not exposed to the internet.
- Check the configuration of security groups or similar mechanisms to restrict traffic to necessary protocols and ports only.
###### Are security measures adequately implemented to protect infrastructure components?
##### Documentation Review:
Check the README.md file for completeness:
###### Does it include detailed setup and configuration instructions?
###### Are there clear, well-structured diagrams and thorough component descriptions?
###### Is there a clear explanation of design decisions and their rationale?
###### Is the documentation clear, complete, and easy to understand?
##### Infrastructure as Code (IaC) Evaluation:
- Request the student to demonstrate the use of Terraform commands (terraform plan, terraform apply) to verify the cloud environment setup.
###### Is Terraform used effectively to provision and manage cloud resources?
###### Do the Terraform configurations accurately reflect the architecture design and project requirements?
###### Does the IaC setup align with best practices and project requirements?
##### Cost Estimation Review:
- Examine the cost estimation file submitted by the student:
###### Does it provide a realistic estimate of the project's cost on the chosen cloud provider?
###### Are there considerations for scaling, data transfer, storage, and other potential costs?
###### Is the cost estimation detailed, realistic, and aligned with cloud provider pricing models?
